1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cover plates for electrical components, and more specifically to a cover plate for electrical outlets which provides greater safety than conventional plates. The present outlet cover plate is deeper than the conventional plate, with recesses therein for closely fitting about and accepting conventional electrical appliance plugs therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Efforts have been made since the initial development of electrical power for the home and industry, to provide safe utilization of such electrical power without endangering the users of such power. While the nominal 110 volts provided at most household electrical outlets is generally not fatal when encountered by an adult in good condition, it is nonetheless somewhat dangerous, and can be fatal, depending upon the age of the person receiving such a shock, the environment, etc. Accordingly, it has become customary to construct many of the components of electrical systems and devices which a person likely to encounter, of electrically non-conductive materials, such as plastic and wood.
Nonetheless, it is still possible to receive an electrical shock through intentional or inadvertent contact with the electrically active contacts within the receptacle itself. This is recognized as a significant hazard in households with toddlers and small children, and has led to the development of various devices for locking electrical plugs to an outlet to preclude a child from disengaging the plug and having access to the outlet. Also, various receptacle covers or guards have been developed in the past for covering unused receptacles.
Still, the conventional electrical receptacle provides relatively little shielding for the receptacle contacts, which are generally recessed only about one eighth of an inch from the face of the receptacle. Considering that the contact prongs of the typical 110 volt electrical appliance are about five eighths of an inch long, it will be seen that the two electrical prongs of a conventional electrical appliance plug may be conducting electricity from an outlet receptacle with as little as one eighth of an inch of each prong inserted into the receptacle. In other words, about one half inch of each of the prongs may be exposed during insertion and removal of an electrical plug into or from an outlet, and still be conducting electricity to the electric appliance connected to the plug. This poses a significant hazard to a person manipulating the plug, as oftentimes the prongs provide a tight fit into a receptacle, and many plugs are difficult to grip at other than the extreme base, where one's fingers may contact the prongs.
Accordingly, a need will be seen for an electrical outlet safety plate which precludes contact with the prongs of an electric plug during the insertion or removal of the plug into or from the outlet receptacle. The present safety plate is raised to provide a thickness of about one half inch from the underlying surface. This provides sufficient safety, as electrical outlets are conventionally installed flush with the surface. The present safety plate includes one or more recesses corresponding to the one or more electrical receptacles of conventional electrical outlets, with the recesses being dimensioned and configured to provide a close fit about a conventional electrical plug inserted therein.
Thus, by the time the contact prongs of the electrical plug have been withdrawn sufficiently from the receptacle for a person to touch the contact prongs, the prongs have been withdrawn sufficiently far from the receptacle so as to break contact with the receptacle contacts, thereby providing complete safety for a person using the present invention. It will be seen that the reverse is also true, as when a plug is being inserted into the receptacle, the non-conductive base of the plug is immediately adjacent the raised face of the present safety plate before the tips of the plug prongs may make contact with the electrical contacts within the outlet receptacle, thus precluding contact with a "hot" prong of the plug by a user of the present safety plate.
A discussion of the related art of which the present inventor is aware, and its differences and distinctions from the present invention, is provided below.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,634,016 issued on Apr. 7, 1953 to Elsie J. Hagen, titled "Shield For Wall Switches," describes a plate for placement between a conventional electrical switch cover plate and the adjacent surface, for precluding marring of the adjacent surface due to contact by users of the switch over a long period of time. While electrical switch plates and electrical outlet plates are standardized to be of essentially the same dimensions, thereby allowing the Hansen shield to be installed behind a conventional electrical outlet cover plate, such an installation would do nothing to obviate the problem addressed by the present invention, due to the width of the central opening in the Hagen shield. In other words, the Hagen shield does not replace a cover plate, but rather provides an extended border for the conventional plate installed therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,363,216 issued on Jan. 9, 1968 to Patrick J. Benedetto, titled "Safety Attachment For Electrical Outlet Fixtures," describes a plate for installing over or in lieu of a conventional outlet plate. The Benedetto plate includes a pair of threaded cylindrical extensions projecting therefrom, for connecting to a mating threaded adapter fitting over an electrical plug. When the plug is inserted into the outlet receptacle and the cover screwed onto the adapter, access to the plug is precluded. However, the cylindrical extensions do not provide the required protection from contact with an electrically conducting plug prong during insertion or removal of the plug from the outlet, even when the cover is not used. This is due to the need to make the Benedetto extension in a circular shape in order for the cover to be rotatingly screwed thereto, resulting in excessive clearance about the top and bottom surfaces of the relatively flat, two prong plug illustrated in the Benedetto patent. Even in the case of plugs with a grounding pin extending therefrom, the surface of the plug opposite the ground pin is typically relatively flat and close to the extended electrical prongs of the plug. Thus, a person desiring a good purchase on a plug installed in a receptacle surrounded by the Benedetto attachment, could still extend his or her fingers into the round extension and contact the prongs of a partially inserted electrical plug. The present safety plate precludes this, due to the specially configured openings which conform closely to the contours of a conventional electrical plug.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,327 issued on Nov. 22, 1977 to Donald S. Vann, titled "Recessed Electrical Outlet," describes an electrical outlet box adapted for recessing the receptacles therein beneath or behind the surface in which the box is installed. This precludes the protrusion of electrical plugs and the like from the plane of the surface, thereby allowing furniture or other articles to be positioned immediately adjacent the surface without damage to the electrical plugs or receptacles into which they are installed. However, the recessed receptacle is still fully accessible to the fingers or hand of a person installing or removing an electrical plug therein, and does not provide a closely fitting recess into which the plug is installed, precluding simultaneous insertion of a finger or the like therein as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,259 issued on Apr. 17, 1990 to William L. Hanson, titled "Electrical Outlet Box Extension Cover," describes a two piece assembly, with the first component serving the purpose of a conventional outlet cover plate. The first component is adapted to be inset into the built out wall, with a second component engaging the walls of the first component and seating therewithin to provide a finished appearance for the electrical outlet inset into the built out wall structure. However, the resulting opening in the finished assembly still has essentially the same dimensions as the original outlet cover plate, thus allowing a person to insert their fingers inadvertently against the prongs of an electrical plug during insertion or removal of the plug from the outlet receptacle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,794 issued on Jun. 26, 1990 to Robert L. Shaw et al., titled "Recessed A C Wall Outlet," describes an outlet box which provides for the recessed installation of the electrical outlet and receptacles therein. The device functions much like the device of the Vann U.S. Patent discussed further above, in that the faces of the receptacles are recessed so that an installed electrical plug does not protrude past the plane of the surface in which the Shaw outlet box is installed. However, the accessible width of the box is still essentially the same as a conventional wall outlet, thus allowing a person to reach into the recess and contact the prongs of an electrical plug during removal or insertion of the plug, which action is precluded by the recesses of the present outlet safety plate which closely fit the plug.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,665 issued on Dec. 31, 1996 to Randal Scamacca, titled "Child-Resistant Electrical Outlet Cover," describes a raised outlet cover plate having two circular passages or recesses therein for accessing the electrical receptacles of the outlet. Generally cylindrical guards are provided, which engage the walls of the recesses. The guards include slots therein, which mate with inwardly extending pins in the recesses, as in a bayonet type fitting. The circular recesses must thus be considerably larger than the dimensions of an electrical plug, as the cylindrical guard must fit over the electrical plug and the guard must fit within the recess. As the guard is rotated within the recess to lock the guard in place, the recesses must be circular, thus leading to the same clearance problem described further above with the circular extensions of the Benedetto device. This enables a person to insert a finger between the walls of the recess and the bottom of an electrical plug inserted therein. The present safety plate fits much more closely about a plug, precluding such finger insertion.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. D-310,319 issued on Sep. 4, 1990 to Larry W. Brookman, titled "Wall Outlet Guard," illustrates a guard which is separate from the cover plate and which attaches conventionally to the underlying outlet. No dimensions or materials are described, so it cannot be determined if the device provides the same protection of the present invention. In any event, as the device is secured to the underlying outlet by only a single central screw, the device may be rotated about the central screw to provide clearance to the underlying outlet receptacles. The present safety plate integrates the walls of the receptacle recesses with the plate as a unitary construction, thus precluding the shifting of the device away from the receptacles.
None of the above inventions and patents, either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.